making sofas happy

Some living rooms just cry out for layers, mixed patterns and intimate furniture arrangements...this shabby chic/Victorian living room is one of them!

This client had one sofa against the only wall in the room and the other facing it. Seems like a good idea, right? But the other half of the room wasn't being used and the focal point - the window, wasn't being showcased.

(Room before redesign, with fresh paint and sofas waiting to be moved!)

I began this redesign by pulling the sofa off the wall, so I'm sharing it with you for sofa placement inspiration! It can be hard to arrange furniture in the room when you have a bay window on one wall, a half wall on a 2nd, a large entry into a kitchen on the 3rd wall, leaving only one full wall.

(After, with only one wall in this living room, pulling the sofas off that wall made sense. We were able to layer tables and lighting to enhance the shabby chic look.)


(Corner, before)


(Corner, after - by placing a wood table behind the sofa we were able to add light to that part of the room as well as showcase the client's collections. The long wall is now an art gallery.)

Sometimes you just have to think outside the box, or rectangle in this case, when it comes to sofa placement. Try pulling it off the wall and see what happens. I promise you can put it back! :)

Happy decorating!

moving sofas all around

In honor of the last week of "pull your sofa off the wall" month, I'm sharing another great redesign where I pulled a sofa off of a wall to make better use of the space.

A common misconception about moving your sofa off the wall (IF that is the best position in your room -- not all spaces are created equally) is that you will lose the valuable space behind the sofa. What usually happens is that you gain space because you can now put furnishings and lighting behind your sofa or walk behind it, adding depth, interest and function to your room.

If your sofa is against the wall, the extra large space that is in front of it, in the middle of your room, is probably only useful if you are having a dance party! :)

(Before, sofa against wall, lots of room for walking around, but not very interesting)


(After, new sectional, pulled off the wall on each side - making room for a table and lighting behind one side and room to walk to the sliding door behind the other side. Lovely!)

C'mon, don't be shy. Send me a picture of your sofa — I'll help you decide where its best position is!

Happy decorating.